Maybe you have a desire...

... to be faithful to Jesus but you are confused by so many voices speaking into your life. We hear so much political correctness and we have a fear of being intolerant of those who may believe differently than we do.  The fear is further propagated by saying if you speak against certain lifestyles or people who may seem compromising to you that you are guilty of a “hate crime.”  Even in the church there is confusion of where the lines are to be drawn between showing grace and mercy and being accepting of things contrary to God’s law.

So what is our standard?  How do we measure what is right and where we are to stand as a church? We want to reach the lost but we do not want to compromise our convictions to do so. Our standard has always been and will forever be the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 24:35 (NKJV) “ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Political correctness should never dictate what our standard should be on abortion, same sex marriage, adultery, Israel, or any other social issue of our day.

We need to be so careful in these last days that we are not presuming on the grace of God by believing the doctrines of man instead of the Living Word of God.  The writer of Hebrews says: Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest twoedged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”  It exposes sin and righteousness. Paul says: Romans 6:1516 (NLT) “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” Obey God and His Word and you will be extra faithful to Him! 

God has led us here...

... at Life Church Assembly of God to be faithful to the Lord in every area of our lives. He has spoken to us about being extra faithful because the days are evil.  Paul says:  Ephesians 5:13 (NLT) “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people.” Paul was saying that as believers we should not be involved in the evil surrounding us in the world.

The apostle goes on to say:  Ephesians 5:1518 (NLT)  “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.   Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit...”  We can be upset and even filled with righteous indignation about the sin in the world around us but until we are upset with the sin in the church we are being very hypocritical. What a concept...be careful how you live. It is imperative that in these last days that we are extraordinarily faithful to the Lord and that we don’t live in a foolish manner.

It appears to me that it always comes back to this...we desperately need to be filled with the presence and power of Holy Spirit.  It only stands to reason that if we are filled with the Spirit of the living God we will not be involved in sexual immorality, impurity, or greed.  I just wonder if the greed that these verses are talking about would be, having the means to spread the gospel through missions and not do it.  Just a thought!  The key is this...don’t get intoxicated by the things of this world but be filled with the Holy Spirit.  As close as we are to the coming of Christ I implore you to ask God multiple times a day for Him to give you the Promise of Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul warns...

... of something in the New Testament that is definitely as relevant today as it was then, maybe even more so. In 2 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT) He says “Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!”  Comparing ourselves with others is about as common as judging others but that is a subject for another time. We all get caught up in this trap of comparing ourselves with those around us.

My doctor tells me to lose weight but I can see others who are in worse shape than myself.  When we are confronted with our disobedience before God we can always find someone else who is living more wrongly than we are. When our children do not want to be denied whatever the latest event that is happening is, they want to compare themselves with their friends who seemingly get to always do whatever they want. “It is not fair” they say!  We always come back with the same proverbial answer, “If your friends wanted to jump off of a cliff would you want to follow them?”

What I believe the answer is for this horrendous habit of comparing ourselves with others is that we answer the question, “What is our standard?”  Is it my friends, are they my standard?  Is it the latest fad, is that our standard?  Is it that I am better than that person or the other?  What is our standard?  James 1:22 (NLT) “But don’t just listen to God’s Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”  I make my choices based on what God’s Word says about my situation.  Philippians 2:5 (NLT)   “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”  When I am faced with tough choices, instead of comparing myself with others, I should ask the question, “What would Jesus do?”  Comparing yourself to others is unwise...comparing yourself to Jesus can be life transforming!  

Joshua has always...

... been one of my favorite Bible characters, so much so that we named our second son by that name. I believe that Joshua (the one in the Bible) can be such an inspiration to us by the things that God commanded him and how he walked those things out in his life. Can you imagine trying to fill the shoes of Moses? Over and over in Joshua 1 God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous...I believe He is saying those things to us.  As a review here are the points God gave me to give to you comparing our lives to Joshua!

 1. God wants us to put our past into perspective!  Joshua 1:1-2(NIV)

2. God wants us to realize He has a place for us!  Joshua 1:2-4(NIV)

3. God wants us to know that His power and presence will go with us to defeat our enemies!  Joshua 1:5 (NIV)  

4. God wants us to know that He will keep His promise to us!  Joshua 1:6 (NIV)

5. God wants us to have true prosperity!  Joshua 1:7-8 (NIV) 

6. God wants us to take possession of what He has promised!  Joshua 1:11 (NIV)

7. God wants us to be passionate about being obedient to Him! Joshua 1:16-17 (NIV)

  A.W.Tozer said, “The true follower of Christ will not ask, "If I embrace this truth, what will it cost me?" Rather he will say, "This is truth. God help me to walk in it, let come what may!"  What I am saying about 2013 is that this is God’s truth and with His help we can and will walk victoriously in it!